Human Rights as a Politico-Ideological Construct versus Scientific Theory: Historiographical Dimensions

The article presents a critical analysis of the status of human rights as a self-sufficient scientific theory. Given that human rights primarily constitute a political and ideological construct emerging from a specific European historical context, the question arises as to whether rational scientific foundations underpin the broader framework of human rights ideas. The study addresses the historiographical challenge of constructing reliable and verifiable politico-legal knowledge by examining a complex of factors behind the conception, evolutionary development, and semantic content of human rights discourse. The authors provide extensive arguments highlighting the theoretical and methodological vulnerabilities in applying this framework. Key critiques include the tension between civilizational pluralism, and the clash of universal versus local values, leading to sociocultural barriers in adopting the Eurocentric human rights model; the misuse of human rights as a tool for political pressure; the bourgeois undertones of the concept, primarily tied to the defense of private property. Despite these criticisms, the authors acknowledge the positive contributions of human rights theory in fostering the humanization of European political and legal thought, and its enduring practical relevance. However, they emphasize the need for its reconceptualization through a civilizational lens. The article pays particular attention to the distinctiveness of the Russian human rights tradition, rooted in the principles of solidarity, collective rights protection, national-cultural dialogue, and the balance between rights and duties, - contrasting with Western economized legal paradigms. The conclusion underscores the necessity of advancing human rights discourse in alignment with of socio-cultural diversity and unique civilizational experiences.

Keywords: human rights; ideologization of law; civilizational approach; historiography; philosophy of law